Gary Johnson on Drugs

Libertarian presidential nominee; former Republican NM Governor

People 95% positive on legalizing; incumbents 100% negative

In 1999, I became the highest-ranking elected official in the US to advocate the legalization of marijuana. I realize this is not a politically popular view.

The responses I got in the governor's office--calls, letters, faxes, emails, people talking to me on the street--to my position on marijuana were about 95% positive.

The reaction from elected officials, on the other hand, at least officially, was 100% negative. But I have been approached by some elected officials who've said, "Way to go. This needed to be said.
Your position is right, but I can't say that in public." I'm willing to risk my political future to educate people and bridge the divide.

Marijuana is safer than alcohol

The myth is that people using drugs are degenerates. The truth is that most marijuana smokers are people we associate with every day--law abiding, tax-paying, productive citizens.

Bad personal decisions should not be criminal if they don't harm anyone
else. It is and should always be illegal to drive while you're impaired or to commit crimes. But people will always use drugs. We can't change that. Our real focus should be on reducing death, disease, crime and corruption.
These problems are all related to drug prohibition, not drug use. But what I've found is that most people base their position on this issue on emotion instead of facts.
The truth is that marijuana is safer than alcohol. I'll be the first to tell you that the world would be a better place if no one drank or did drugs. But that will never be the case.

75% of border violence with Mexico is due to drugs

Q: You were a border-state governor...?

A: We should make it as easy as possible to be able to get a legal work visa--not citizenship, not a green card. And then legalize marijuana. 75% of the border violence with Mexico would go away--that's the
estimate of the drug cartels' activities that are engaged in the trade of marijuana. We've had 28,000 deaths south of the border over the last four years. If we can't connect the dots between prohibition and violence, I don't know if we ever will.

Q:
Is border violence the main reason you're for liberalizing drug laws?

A: I'm opposed to drug war A through Z. Half--half!--of what we spend on law enforcement, the courts, and the prisons, is drug-related. And to what end? We have the highest
incarceration rate of any country in the world. "America, land of liberty and freedom?" You know, that's baloney. More than 2 million Americans are behind bars now. Communist China has 4 times the population and they have 1.5 million people behind bars.

Marijuana is safer than alcohol

Q: Talk to me about your personal marijuana use. Why have you been so upfront about it?

A: I don't smoke pot today. I don't drink alcohol.
But I've done both of them and I can speak with authority over the fact that there's a big difference between marijuana and alcohol. And the difference is that marijuana is a lot safer.

Source: Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone Magazine
, Jun 15, 2011

Legalize marijuana instead of 1.8 million arrests and $70B

Q: What about legalizing drugs?

A: Legalizing marijuana, talking about harm reduction strategies regarding all the other drugs, so talking about legalizing marijuana. I came at this issue from a cost-benefit analysis standpoint. I'm not telling you
anything that you don't recognize. Half of what we spend on law enforcement, the courts and prisons is drug-related and to what end? Well, $70 billion a year. We're arresting 1.8 million people a year in this country.
We now have 2.3 million people behind bars. We have the highest incarceration rate of any person in the world, America.

Q: What do you do when people are in a crack-induced state of psychosis?

A: There's an educational process in all this.
But you treat it first as a health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue. You don't treat it first as a criminal justice issue. Let's differentiate between marijuana though and harder drugs. What I'm advocating is the legalization of marijuana.

Harm-reduction: health issue rather than criminal issue

Q: You say we should tax and legalize marijuana. How far would you go in legalizing drugs?

A: As governor of New Mexico, everything was a cost-benefit analysis. Using that as a criteria: half of what we spend on law enforcement, the courts, and the
prisons is drug-related. And to what end? We're arresting 1.8 million people a year in this country. We now have 2.3 million people behind bars. We have the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. If people look at it, they'll see that
90% of the drug problem is prohibition-related, not use-related. That's not to discount the problems with use and abuse, but that ought to be the focus. I advocate legalizing marijuana: control it; regulate it; and tax it. It'll never be legal for kids to
smoke pot or buy pot; It'll never be legal to do harm while smoking pot. When it comes to all other drugs, I advocate harm-reduction strategies, which is looking at the drug problem first as a health issue rather than as a criminal justice issue.

Drug policy today parallels Prohibition in the 1920's

The parallels between drug policy today and Prohibition in the 1920's are obvious, as are the lessons our nation learned. Prohibition was repealed because it made matters worse. Today, no one is trying to sell our kids bathtub gin in the schoolyard and
micro-breweries aren't protecting their turf with machine guns. It's time to apply that thinking to marijuana. By making it a legal, regulated product, availability can be restricted, under-age use curtailed, enforcement/court/incarceration costs reduced
and the profit removed from a massive underground and criminal economy.

By managing marijuana like alcohol and tobacco--regulating, taxing and enforcing its lawful use--America will be better off. Alcohol Prohibition (1920-1933) had only a minimal
effect on the desire of Americans to drink but pushing alcohol underground had other effects: overdose deaths, gang violence, and other prohibition-related harms increased dramatically during the Prohibition years.

Other governors privately support ending drug war

Keeping an open mind is part of the way civic personalities maintain touch with reality and other people's wishes. When I held a news conference with Gov. Gary Johnson (R, NM), he urged a rethinking of the self-defeating and cruel war on drugs. Johnson
is the only sitting governor to open such a taboo subject, even though he told me that the other governors privately agree with what he says but think it too politically delicate to raise similar questions in their states.

Source: Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader, p.316
, Oct 14, 2002

War on Drugs is a miserable failure; $6M for treatment

California and Arizona have gone the furthest in decriminalizing non-violent drug use, raising the issue’s profile nationally and spurring about 10 other states this year to consider a similar philosophical shift. Arguing that the multibillion-dollar
drug war has been a failure, legislatures in New York, Hawaii, Arkansas, and elsewhere are considering revisions to mandatory sentence laws for low-level drug offenders and may provide millions of dollars to drug diversion programs.

Last month, the
New Mexico legislature approved five drug bills proposed by Republican Gov. Gary Johnson, an ardent supporter of decriminalizing drugs. Included in the package are measures that will allocate $6 million to expand treatment services, legal protections for
syringe sales, and restoring voting rights for felons who have served their time. “The war on drugs is a miserable failure,” Johnson said. “50% of the money for prisons and courts is spent on drugs. What we’re doing isn’t working.”

Source: V. Dion Haynes, Chicago Tribune, p. 6
, Apr 9, 2001

Drug use is up despite $30B spending on War on Drugs

Q: Of all the issues, why this crusade for the legalization of drugs?

A: It is the biggest issue in the country, and it's not being addressed.

Q: It is supposedly being addressed by the long-fought war on drugs.

A: The war on drugs is a
mindboggling failure.

Q: Some statistics suggest that drug use is down.

A: That's absolute baloney. I just don't buy it. In one survey people were asked if they did drugs. First, they were asked in the Seventies. I can imagine people
responding, "Well, sure, doesn't everybody?" Today, they would likely say "No way" before hanging up. It's a different time. But if we have reduced drug use by half--some claim it has gone down from 26 million to 13 million users--where are the
corresponding dollar savings? We have gone from spending federally $1.8 billion to spending $30-plus billion--plus the cost of incarceration--and haven't dented the problem. As we approach zero users, are we going to be at $400 billion? Come on.

Source: Interview with David Sheff in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001

Prescriptions for heroin & methadone at local pharmacy

Q: How would the legalization of heroin actually work?

A: Only addicts would be allowed to get drugs. They would have to get a prescription.

Q: But wouldn't there still be a large group of people who use heroin casually? Wouldn't there still be a
black market?

A: Yes, you bet. But it is going to reduce the problem, which is a start. We have to look at the other users, too. We should start with the drug addicts and then explore the problem posed by the other users. For drug addicts, we should
look at all the tools in the box. One of the ideas I proposed is that methadone should be available from drugstores, not just from clinics. One of the criticisms of methadone clinics is their clientele. Why don't we just allow people to go to drugstores
and get their methadone with a prescription? Heroin maintenance is another idea I proposed. It's a harm-reduction strategy. Instead of pretending that drugs are going to go away, we should do everything we can to minimize the negative impact of drugs.

Source: Interview with David Sheff in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001

Allow medical marijuana and needle exchanges

Q: What's your view on medical marijuana?

A: Of course I think it should be allowed.

Q: Yet your home state doesn't allow it.

A: It's not likely to happen. Now, in particular, there is a backlash against anything drug-related in the state.
It's a backlash against me.

Q: Is your campaign actually hurting your cause?

A: Not for a second.

Q: But people might feel that something as innocuous as medical marijuana or a needle exchange program is just the beginning in their governor's
agenda to legalize every drug.

A: Well, my goal is for a more rational drug policy. There's no question that I've moved the needle. I've moved the needle nationally. I've moved it in the direction it needs to go.
It's a start, but there need to be 3000 other people espousing the same ideas. These other programs--needle exchange, medical marijuana--are important, but they don't address the great ills caused by prohibition.

Source: Interview with David Sheff in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001

More federal funding for all aspects of Drug War.

Johnson adopted the National Governors Association policy:

To reduce the presence of illegal drugs, drug-related organized crime, and the adverse effects of drug and alcohol abuse in society requires a comprehensive strategy involving federal, state, and local governments. The Governors believe that one of the most severe public health threats is the recent rise in substance abuse among children.

The Federal Role The profits from illicit drug trafficking can be effectively used to help state efforts to dry up the demand for these drugs. The nation’s Governors urge the President and Congress to fully fund drug and alcohol abuse education, drug courts, treatment, prevention, and law enforcement efforts, including the initiative to combat and clean up methamphetamine production laboratories, at the state and local levels of government.

Intensified Eradication and Interdiction Federal funding for use of the National Guard in drug and border enforcement deserves continued support. The Governors urge
the President and Congress to utilize the role of U.S. military forces in interdiction efforts.

High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. The HIDTA program provides additional federal funds to those areas to help federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations invest in infrastructure and joint initiatives to dismantle drug trafficking organizations. Governors support the HIDTA initiative and urge Congress to continue supporting the program.

The Federal Role in Reducing International Drug Trafficking. The nation’s Governors urge the Administration and Congress to significantly tighten procedures for certifying foreign countries for eligibility to receive U.S. aid based on their cooperation with U.S. surveillance, interdiction, and eradication efforts.

Drug Legalization The nation’s Governors believe illicit drug legalization is not a viable alternative, either as a philosophy or as a practical reality.

States should make drug policy, not feds.

Johnson co-sponsored the Western Governors' Association resolution:

Western Governors agree that states, not the federal government, are in the best position to understand the myriad of drug related issues facing their citizens and to initiate and implement drug policy strategies that will combat the substance abuse problems facing their communities.

Western Governors support effective law enforcement initiatives and behavioral accountability. Partnerships between enforcement and treatment programs (or efforts) need to be strengthened and supported to enable behavioral changes.

Western Governors recognize the escalating costs of incarceration and welcome effective common sense options within the criminal justice system that result in lessened drug abuse, healthier communities, and decreased criminal activity.

Western Governors appreciate the unique problems confronting our communities from increased production, distribution and abuse of methamphetamines. The Governors will continue to attack this problem aggressively on several fronts, including enforcement of current criminal laws and expansion of treatment and intervention programs.

Western Governors support sentencing laws that retain individual accountability for criminal conduct while administering proportional punishments that are fair and just.

Western Governors support efforts to staunch the proliferation of illegal intravenous drug use. Common sense strategies aimed at protecting communities against discarded and potentially contaminated injection drug paraphernalia should be explored. Furthermore, the Governors encourage reform initiatives that will help and encourage injection drug users to obtain information, treatment, detoxification and social services.